Defenders, captured in Kursk region, also returned from Russian captivity
As a result of the eleventh POW swap in 2024, defenders who fought in the east and south of Ukraine, as well as those who were captured in Kursk region (Russia), were also released from Russian captivity, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs).
"The eleventh exchange in 2024 allowed the release of 87 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (17 of them are territorial defense servicemen), 43 – the National Guard, 33 – the State Border Guard Service, 24 – Navy. Two civilians have also returned from captivity," reads a message posted on the Telegram channel on Monday.
"In addition to Mariupol and the Snake Island, the liberated defended Ukraine in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, and Kherson directions, and the National guardsmen served to protect the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. We also returned those who were captured in Kursk region," the Coordination Headquarters noted.
It is indicated that many Ukrainians have been in Russian captivity for more than two and a half years. The defenders have acute chronic illnesses, the effects of mine-explosion injuries, as well as severe injuries.
This time, 173 common soldiers and sergeants, as well as 14 officers, were released.
In total, 3,956 people have already been returned as part of the work of the Coordination Staff on behalf of the president, 1,358 of them in 2024.